G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance Summit 2025: A gathering of global entrepreneurs focused on Africa’s development

Young Entrepreneurs South Africa is proud to announce the start of the much-anticipated G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance Summit 2025. This dynamic two-day gathering is set to take place on Friday, 19th and Saturday, 20th of September 2025 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.

As the G20 Leaders’ Summit draws closer for South Africa, entrepreneurs from the 20 countries of the G20 will converge in South Africa to tackle issues and challenges that impact African businesses looking to expand their reach into global markets.

The outcomes from this Summit will be handed over to the Presidency of South Africa as inputs into the all-important G20 Leaders’ Summit in November.

The G20 YEA Summit will start this Friday, 19th September and promises to highlight challenges faced by African Entrepreneurs who have potential to expand their businesses globally, particularly those that are keen to trade with other G20 countries.

As the global trading environment has become quite uncertain in recent months and the need for sustainable economic growth and development becomes more urgent for many African countries, the conversations are expected to be focused and electrifying as pertinent topics in the programme line up include AfCFTA. This conversation about African trade comes at a significant time when Africa must accelerate its quest for new markets in order to mitigate the impact of the US tariffs and other global economic challenges. The Summit will highlight the opportunities that are presented by the possibility of increased Intra Africa trade such as access to integrated and much larger markets and continent-wide innovation.

The panels made up of leading experts, businesspeople, CEOs and government officials will focus on digital transformation, energy security, Fintech, education and skills development and issues affecting women in business. The Summit which has received resounding support from Brand SA, B20, DTIC, the Gauteng government and various corporate sponsors, will also be celebrating high potential start-ups and innovation, empowering youth through SME workshops, masterclasses and networking opportunities.

“The G20 YEA Summit 2025 will showcase the potential of how African entrepreneurs can become global players and increase Africa’s overall participation in global trade. Assuming the Presidency of the G20 as South Africa has given us a voice, and we have a responsibility to shift the dial and ensure that the actions coming out of this year’s Summit benefit African entrepreneurs over the long run,” said Innocentia Motau, the President of the Young Entrepreneurs South Africa (YESA) who are hosting the Summit.

Featuring notable international speakers, South African government officials, state-owned enterprise leaders and African entrepreneurs on the various panels, attendees can look forward to vibrant panel discussions, keynote addresses from CEOs as well as insights from sector specialists in agriculture, energy, finance, transport and logistics, and other key sectors.

“We are excited to be in South Africa supporting YESA as the hosts of this year’s G20 YEA Summit. When this Alliance was formed we had great ambitions to be inclusive and to expand our reach to become true advocates for global entrepreneurs. I wish the SA team all the success and look forward to conversations and solutions that will move the dial  and unlock opportunities for global entrepreneurs looking to trade in the G20 markets,” remarked Marcus Mafia from Brazil who is the current Chairperson of the Global YEA.

An exciting part of the programme is that some local entrepreneurs will highlight their successful journeys and there will be a session to discuss past failures and how they have bounced back and managed to build sustainable businesses.

The event aims to make a meaningful impact on all attendees and foster a community of African entrepreneurs that can tackle global challenges, adapt to changes in the trading environment and win together.

“We’re thrilled to bring this experience to Johannesburg; we look forward to hosting all our international and local delegates and the South African and international media. This will be the most significant gathering of young entrepreneurs from the G20 markets. It’s more than an event—it’s a movement.”  concluded Motau.